Congressmen Get Firsthand Look At Hoosac Tunnel

U.S. Rep. John W. Olver, D-Amherst, said he was 'allowed to have my hand on the throttle while it was sitting very still ... They also had another guy sitting there with his hands on the brake in case I got rambunctious.'

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The region's congressmen got a firsthand look at the challenges to freight rail from the high cab of a brilliant blue Pan Am passenger train on Thursday.

U.S. Reps. John W. Olver and Richard Neal, accompanied by Pan Am Railways and state Department of Transportation officials, took the train from Greenfield through the historic Hoosac Tunnel, a top priority in clearing the way for the use of double-decker freight canisters.

"It's really critically important to get that done because the whole of Northern New England [is accessed] from this railroad line," said Olver.

The state was awarded a $2 million competitive grant by the U.S. Department of Transportation in early March toward preliminary engineering and environmental studies of 19 obstructions in two tunnels and 17 road, rail or pedestrian bridges that prevent the use of double-stack trains along the so-called "Patriot Corridor" between Mechanicville, N.Y., and Ayers.

The major challenge is the nearly five-mile Hoosac Tunnel, a 19th-century engineering marvel that cemented the city's claim as the Western Gateway. The 1950s Pan Am passenger train glided into Western Gateway Heritage State Park, a reminder of what had once been a bustling rail yard in the last century.

"It's a reminder of the role again that rail transportation has played not only in American history but in terms of future investment," said Neal, outside the Visitors' Center that hosts a museum dedicated to tunnel. "Rail transportation has made a great comeback ... you can see in Central and Western Massachusetts the success that rail transportation is having for commercial purposes, particularly for short lines."

Neal later visited McCann Technical School, Morrison Berkshires and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and taught a class at Williams College before meeting with the Williams Democrats. Olver spent some time in the train museum.

The height of the Hoosac Tunnel has hampered the ability to get freight north to Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine via Pan Am, which is partnering with Norfolk Southern Railways. CSX operates a southern route that runs through Pittsfield. Olver said that for freight purposes, Northern New England is easier reached from this railroad line rather than CSX to the south.

Above, Olver and Neal rode in the cab of the train; right, Pan Am President David Zink said the tunnel project presents difficulties.

"We were showing Congressman Neal and Congressman Olver the issues that we're going to be dealing with," said David A. Fink, president of Pan Am Railways, who described the congressmen as instrumental in obtaining the feasibility funding. "This study is to see what it will cost to clear the Hoosac Tunnel to 20 feet, 6 inces as well as the 18 other bridges or tunnels that we go through."

The tunnel, still the longest east of the Mississippi, needs about a foot more clearance, said Fink, either by scraping the roof or lowering the track. The height had been raised in 1997 to accommodate triple-racks and doubles that were one high and one low but that configuration no longer works.

Once the engineering is completed, the hard part will be how to do it.

"You can't just close the tunnel for a month and fix it ... We need to run trains," said Fink. "It will be an interesting engineering project for the low bidder who gets it."

Olver estimated the tunnel work will be as costly as the other 18 obstacles put together.

"The Congress will have to make some commitment and the state will need to make some commitment, but a good portion of it is going to have to be done by Pan Am and Norfolk Southern," he said. "It's going to be in their interest to get it done, too."

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We all benefit from having the trains running, and we all breathe a little better with less air pollution by using them than putting all those people and goods in cars or trucks.

However, Mr. Olver, just like we cannot shut down the Hoosic Tunnel because the trains have to run, we couldn't afford to shut down the Spruces in Williamstown, because low income people still need an affordable place to live. Can you help them?

Railroads have been paying their way for decades. They own and maintain their own tracks and pay taxes on them while trucks and airports are funded by us. Untill just reciently have they started to use state and federal funds for helping with projects. If this project is successful in getting some trucks off our roads than it'll be less that your stuck behind on RT-2

This rail line has already taken trucks off the road that would otherwise be on Route 2 or the Pike, where have you been? There is a daily train in each direction that is usually close to 2 miles long full of "piggyback" tractor trailers on flat cars and auto carriers. Very hard to miss it. Only going to get bigger.

The railroads have always paid their ways? This couldn't be further from the truth. The largest railroad east of the Mississippi (Conrail) was created in 1976 by the government with your money. It has since been broken up to private companies.

It is in the best interest of everyone to offer cheap and economical transportation for businesses, this extends down to us as consumers. You know that Walmart in North Adams? Yeah their tractor trailers come into Massachusetts via rail, which is cheap and they can ship bulk cheap. You wouldn't want to see consumer prices at trucking everything one at a time across the country on rubber tires. Just one example...

I'm amazed that our state legislators, State Senator Ben Downing and First Berkshire State Rep Gail Anne Cariddi weren't on hand for the photo opportunity. Since west portal of the Hoosac Tunnel is in North Adams, where was Mayor Alcombright? Guess they weren't concerned with this issue.

I recently returned to Berkshire County after 20 years (or so) away, and have been amazed by the increase in rail traffic in the county. This is terrific for all of us -- freight travels by rail for less money, using less fuel, causing less pollution, and helps reduce heavy truck traffic on roads. I think those who consider this a government give-away are neglecting the historic role of government spending for highways, bridges, railways and airports. It's an investment that will pay back -- I think the Hoosac tunnel is pretty thoroughly amortized by now!